YA Lit Symposium – Australian YA presentation

Today I was honoured to present at the YALSA YA Lit Symposium in St Louis, Missouri. Nearly five hundred American librarians and TLs are in attendance for this two day conference and I was up first…no pressure. My topic of course, Australian YA. My partner was the lovely Cathy Andronik who is currently undertaking a doctoral thesis on Australian YA authors and why they are so highly commended in Australia. Cathy discussed the success of authors such as Markus Zusak, Melina Marchetta, Craig Silvey and Christine Hinwood in the Michael L. Prinz Medal while I tackled Austraian authors they probably hadn’t heard about …yet.

I have fielded many questions about that presentation since this morning and as such will link to the authors’ pages so more research can be done. Hearing from so many YALSA members on their exploits buying ebook versions or ordering online has been lovely – thank you for the support.

Cath Crowley – Graffiti Moon (released in the US on February 14, 2012)

Like I said, I have one of the most amazing jobs in the world as the Program Coordinator at the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria. We have a jam packed program of student days, school and library visits, professional development, regional tours, and the Reading Matters conference (May 31-June 1, 2013) that I mentioned. What may apply most of all to my new American friends is our online offer – the incredible www.insideadog.com.au which allows teen to make recommendations to their peers, interact with authors during the writer in residence each month and even establish book clubs.

Right now you are on the CYL’s official blog, Read Alert. Each week we post Net News, book reviews and thematic YA book lists. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter – we love to hear from you. And of course, should you wish to email me or the team with any questions send them our way at this email address.

And now it is time for me to bid adieu. It’s been a wonderful day for me participating in sessions on The Invisible Minority (LGBTQ), Transmedia and utilising pop culture. I am very much looking forward to hearing what is in store for us all tomorrow. Make sure you say hey if you see me around.

Congrats Adele! So glad the presentation was a smash success. And thrilled to hear that people around the world are interested in Aust. YA fiction. We have some of the best authors out there – nice to have a decent arena in which to show them off.
enjoy the rest of the trip.